India’s first bullet train takes shape: Railways unveils initial look of Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed project
PTC Web Desk: The Ministry of Railways has revealed the first visual representation of India’s much-awaited bullet train project, offering a glimpse of the high-speed train planned for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor.
The image, displayed at Gate No. 4 of the Railways Ministry building in New Delhi, showcases the sleek and aerodynamic design of the train that is expected to operate on the country’s first bullet train route.
The ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Corridor will span 508 km and connect 12 stations across Gujarat and Maharashtra. The proposed stations include Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Thane, Virar, Boisar, Vapi, Bilimora, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand/Nadiad, Ahmedabad and Sabarmati.
A picture of the country's first proposed bullet train has been displayed at the Ministry of Railways. The picture has been installed at Gate Number 4: Indian Railways pic.twitter.com/LcbwMstDuw — ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2026
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the project in September 2017 at Sabarmati in Ahmedabad. The total estimated cost of the corridor stands at around Rs 1.1 lakh crore.
As part of the construction work, the project will feature eight mountain tunnels. Seven of them are located in Maharashtra with a combined length of over six km, while another 350-metre tunnel is being developed in Gujarat.
In a major engineering milestone, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) recently installed India’s largest cutterhead for a tunnel boring machine (TBM) at Vikhroli in Mumbai. The massive cutterhead measures 13.6 metre in diameter and weighs close to 350 tonne.
According to NHSRCL, the machine will be deployed for excavation work on the underground section of the bullet train corridor. Two giant TBMs, each weighing more than 3,000 tonne, are currently being assembled for the construction of a 21-kilometre underground tunnel in Mumbai.
The tunnel project also includes a seven-km stretch beneath Thane Creek, which will become India’s first undersea rail tunnel once completed.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had earlier stated that the first operational section of the bullet train between Ahmedabad and Vapi is expected to begin services by August 2027. The full Ahmedabad-Mumbai route is likely to become operational in 2029.
Once completed, the bullet train is expected to reduce travel time between Ahmedabad and Mumbai to under two hours.
- With inputs from agencies
